At Diamond Brittanys, we raise our puppies in our home- hands on and underfoot. We are transitioning to a new socialization program and are extremely excited to be doing so! We will be implementing the Early Neurological Stimulation or the "Bio-Sensor Program". We are very hands on with them from birth... In fact, mom has to be okay with my being nosy too because I am very involved in their labor and births. I record birth weights, times, color, and sex and I take pictures of them and post them to our facebook page as each is born. Not only for my records, but to include my buyers in the birthing process as much as possible because it is a very exciting experience.

We do not have a puppy nursery. While I think they are very cute, I think puppies should be raised in the busiest place of the house after their eyes and ears open, and that certainly is not in a closed room where they aren't bothering anyone. Our puppies are raised in our bedroom until about 3 weeks of age when I move them to the dining room and they are started on potty training. We have nothing to hide, our buyers are welcome to our home after puppies are old enough for first vaccinations.

We are proud to be able to offer to our clients the opportunity to take advantage of our Early Neurological Stimulation program. This program is based on scientific facts on how puppies learn. It was developed over a course of many years and many blind test studies. Our military still uses this system called “Biosensor” also known as the “Super Dog” Program. It is based on three phases of training. The first being the early neurological stimulation, socialization being the second phase, and lastly the enrichment phase.

Many breeders today still hold on to the fact that performance of a puppy is totally inherited. Studies to determine the validity of this theory, were started as early as Charles Darwin and Francis Galton’s years. It has just been in recent decades that scientific data has proven 35% of a dog’s performance is inherited and 65% is based on other influences such as training, environment, management and nutrition.

Newborn puppies are very different from adult dogs in several ways. When they are born their eyes are closed and their digestive system has a limited capacity. This is why the mother will routinely lick them in order to promote digestion. The pups are only able to smell, suck, and crawl. The body temperature is maintained by cuddling with their mother and their littermates. Research has proven that these puppies are extremely sensitive to thermal and tactile stimulation, motion and locomotion. One test that was conducted on puppies was the Electrical Encephalogram (EEG). This measures the sensitivity to changes in excitement, emotional stress, muscle tension, and changes in there breathing levels.

The Biosensor Program involves five exercises that will produce neurological stimulations, none of which naturally occur during the early life of the puppy. The benefits that have been observed by providing this stimulation is: improved heart rate, stronger heart beats, stronger adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress and a greater resistance to disease. In learning tests the stimulated pups were found to be more active and were more exploratory than the pups not stimulated. Secondary effects that were also determined were that the pups handled stressful situations with less whining, were much more calm, and made fewer errors.

The second phase of socialization is critical to the puppy. Tests prove we have an extremely small window of 4-16 weeks. The lack of this controlled socialization adversely affects social and psychological development in the puppies. Puppies at this stage left to stagger in kennels will turn to the side effects of loneliness and boredom. The resulting behavior manifests itself in the form of chewing (a stress relief for dogs), digging, and hard-to-control behavior.

Many improperly socialized puppies develop into older dogs unprepared for adult life, unable to cope with the challenges, and interactions of people, other dogs, and environments. Attempts to re-socialize only produce small gains. Research showed these failures confirm the notion that the window of time open for the neurological stimulation and social stimulation only come once.

The third and final phase of the program is the enrichment. This has no time limit and covers a long period of the puppy well into adulthood. Enrichment meaning the positive sum of experiences, which have a cumulative effect upon the puppy. As the puppy is growing their nervous systems are developing and storing information. All like “money in the bank”. A study by Scott-Fuller University of Chicago Press, confirmed that non-enriched pups when given a choice preferred to stay in their kennels. Other littermates were given small amounts of enrichment between five and eight weeks. These pups proved to be very inquisitive and active. When kennel doors were left open, the enriched pups exited them looking to explore, while non-enriched pups refused to leave the kennel. The non-stimulated pups were fearful and preferred to withdraw. Even well bred pups with superior pedigrees would not explore or leave their kennels, and many were found highly difficult to train as adults.

This has been just a small overview of our program. Science has come so far in years past with studying the canine mind. Our society has become accustomed to making our dogs one of the family. With all that being said, we at Diamond Brittanys, are extremely proud to bring a new wave of training starting at BIRTH!

As you can see in the pictures their area is clean, they are litter box trained, they have plenty of toys to play with, and a clean bed to sleep on! I keep a mop set up by their pen to keep it clean. The pellets from litter training does get kicked all over the floor but they are safe! When you come to our home, you will see for yourself! The puppies are confident, loving, and well rounded because they are well loved and socialized in our home! Shortly after they are born, their dew claws are removed and their tails are docked. They are given all deworming care and vaccinations that are age appropriate until they leave.

The benefits of litter training have us in awe! We are so happy we decided to litter train and will never go back! Our puppies go to their new homes already used to going to a certain place to go potty and seek it out. They go to their new homes already 75% potty trained! This is a LIFE SAVER and I promise you will be happy! Buy the same litter we do- equine pine pellets from Tractor Supply, make a litter box for your pup in an excersize pen and then slowly transition to outside and then pour some of the litter directly on the ground where you want your pup to potty and it will be the easiest training transition ever!

In case you were wondering... Now you know! This is how we raise our puppies!